Systems and methods for implementing auctions associated with live events

ABSTRACT

A mobile auction and engagement system, and method of use, for conducting auctions, advertising activities, promotions, and other engagement activities during various live events. Access to the mobile auction and engagement system can be limited to users within a geographic region, such as a sport stadium. The system includes a user tool that enables a user within the permissible geographic area to bid on auction items and participate in engagement activities, such as trivia contests. The system further includes an administrative tool that allows the system to be customized for various customers, allows input about auction items and rules, and determines how advertisements are presented.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/073,673 filed Oct. 31, 2014. The entiretext of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/073,673 is herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to entertainment solutionsenabled by mobile cloud technology, and, more particularly, to a methodand apparatus for conducting auctions, advertising activities,promotions, and other engagement activities during entertainment events,such as sporting events or other types of live events.

BACKGROUND

Professional sports leagues and teams are actively investing millions toenhance the wireless and broadband capabilities of their stadiums tosupport their fans' increased use of mobile devices. The leagues andteams are seeking innovative mobile software solutions to transformtheir relationship with their fans and partners. The leagues and teamstherefore recognize the importance of the fan experience and its impacton revenue generation. The need for fan engagement solutions is so acutethat leading media and technology companies serving the sports andentertainment industry have created business units to focus on enhancingthe fan experience.

Certain solutions exist in the charity auction context, such as thosethat enable charity auction attendees to bid via their mobile devices onitems up for auction. However, the mobile software solutions employed inthe charity auction context are limited in that they do not allow usersto self-register, instead requiring users to be manually registered byauction administrative personnel. Although registration by auctionadministrative personnel is feasible for the number of attendeestypically attending a charity auction, it would not be possible in theentertainment events context, as thousands of spectators often attend atthese events. Likewise, mobile software solutions employed in thecharity auction context do not allow self-checkout on a mobile device.

These existing solutions are further limited in that they do notrestrict auction participants to those who actually attend the auction.Indeed, charity auctions benefit from having bidders who are not presentparticipate in the auction. This is also true for general online auctionsystems such as eBay®. In contrast, sporting and event venues may wantto restrict participation in a mobile program to attendees at thestadium in order to provide an incentive to attend the game in personrather than watch it on television.

Further, the existing solutions allow only for customer-to-businesspayments. For example, an eBay customer pays directly to the eBaybusiness from which it is purchasing a product. In a professional sportssetting, a sport team may wish to outsource management of payments toanother company, thus requiring a more complicated payment process thatallows for business-to-business payments.

SUMMARY

The techniques of the present disclosure generally relate to the sizableand emerging space of professional sports and entertainment solutionsenabled by mobile cloud technology. In particular, the techniques of thepresent disclosure facilitate interactive mobile auctions withadditional engagement activities to increase fan engagement, improve fanexperience, and enhance team sponsorship revenues.

The systems and methods may be implemented as part of an auctionplatform, which may include a set of applications, modules, or enginescapable of implementing the various functionalities described herein.The auction platform may provide a ‘during the event’ auction thatauthentically engages attendees via a smartphone, tablet computer, oranother mobile device. For example, attendees can bid ononce-in-a-lifetime auction items such as a coin toss, a jet ride withthe team, or participating role in some aspect of the event. Further,the auction platform may facilitate other mobile device engagementactivities, such as trivia challenges, promotions, and advertising. Forexample, users of mobile devices interacting with the auction platformmay be prompted to answer trivia questions during a sporting event thatare directly related to the sporting event (e.g., related to a teamplaying at the sporting event), and prizes such as refreshments orstadium store gift certificates may be distributed to winning users who,for example, are the first to correctly answer a number of questions orare randomly drawn from a pool of users who have correctly answeredtrivia questions.

Users interacting with the auction platform may be presented withadvertisements during the auction, a trivia challenge, or anotherengagement activity. In some cases, these advertisements may beconfigured to rotate, or otherwise interchange, such that many sponsorsmay gain exposure during events. In particular, a rotating advertisementscreen saver may provide advertisers with a larger sized advertisementthat may be displayed throughout the entire event, an advantage overtraditional small banner advertisements displayed only during activeuser interaction with the device.

In some implementations, auctions or other engagement activities may belimited to users of mobile devices at a particular event (e.g.,constrained by geolocation). In other implementations, auctions or otherengagement activities may be visible from anywhere in the world. Iflimited to users of mobile devices at a particular event taking place ata venue, the auction may lure attendees into the venue, as the thrill ofthe live event may strengthen the host's relationship with the attendee.Limiting the ability to participate in the mobile auction or otherengagement activities to attendees of a particular event may help tojustify the ticket price for attending the event.

To ensure that payments for auctions and other engagement activities arereceived from users of the auction platform, the auction platform mayutilize payment and/or registration techniques that prevent a loss orinability for attendees to pay for prizes, auction items, etc. Inparticular, the auction platform may allow users to register, viacontact information, payment details, email, etc., prior toparticipating in auctions. In this manner, users may authorize theauction platform to seamlessly and automatically complete transactionsupon the close of an auction, or at any other pre-determined ordynamically determined times.

The auction platform may enable both users (e.g., attendees of liveevents) and administrators to connect thereto. In particular,administrators may interface with the auction platform to configure andinitiate a set of auctions corresponding to a set of events. Further,users may connect to the auction platform to access, view, andparticipate in the set of auctions. The auction platform enables usersto self-register with the auction platform, such as by creating anaccount, thereby enabling the users to access the set of auctions.According to embodiments, various of the set of auctions may have ageographic restriction, whereby auction participants may be limited tousers located within a set boundary.

The user may access many current items or experiences up for auction ata particular auction, whereby certain items or experiences may beclassified as “hot” based on the number of recent bids, the number ofviews, or based on some other metric. The items up for auction may, inparticular, be “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences or opportunities. Forexample, a once-in-a-lifetime experience may be to flip the coin priorto kickoff of a football game. The auction platform may enable a user toplace a bid, place a maximum auto bid, or pay a set price thatautomatically wins the item or experience. The auction platform may alsoalert a user know when the user has been outbid and enable the user tobid again. The auction platform may inform a user when the user has wonan item or experience from the auction or when the user has not won. Theauction platform enables a user to provide payment information,indicates when a payment has been approved or declined, and presents theuser with a receipt. The auction platform may automatically facilitateredemption of the item or experience won upon the auction ending. Inaddition, the auction platform may enable a user to participate in atrivia engagement activity by answering trivia questions, being informedwhether the answer was correct or incorrect, keeping track of triviapoints scored, and enabling a user to redeem the trivia points forprizes.

The auction platform may also support various functionalities foradministrators or otherwise users who are authorized to configure andinitiate auctions. In particular, the auction platform may enableadministrators to customize and monitor the auction platform forcustomers, such as sports teams or entertainment venues, and to set theactivities and information that will be viewable by users of the auctionplatform, such as attendees at a sporting event. The auction platformmay automatically monitor the number of registered users, details aboutthe users, the number of auctions, details about current and upcomingauctions such as start and end times and bid history, and the number oftotal sold items. The auction platform enables administrators toconfigure a new auction, specify whether an auction is locked to aspecific geographic area or not, input the start and end time of theauction and the time zone for which those start and end times areapplicable, identify the currency used for the auction, select a defaultrefund policy for the auction items or experiences, and identify adefault refund contact. The auction platform further enables theadministrator to enter specific details about the item or experience,such as a description of the item (including, for example, a descriptionof how and why the item is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity), how theitem can be won (bidding, bidding via a “win now” price, or selecting a“buy now” selection without bidding), how many of that item orexperience are available, whether the item or experience is sponsoredand the sponsor, what the refund policy is for the item or experienceand the refund contact, and any fine print regarding the item orexperience. Additionally, the auction platform may enable management ofadvertisements, which may include specifying which ads are to run, thefrequency with which the ads should run, the length of time each adshould run, the logo or advertisement to be displayed, and/or otherdetails. The administrative tool may be used to customize the appearanceof the auction platform to include, for example, certain logos or tohave the header or footer be certain colors such as the team colors. Theadministrative tool may further be used to enter information about thevarious companies conducting auctions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the connectivity of the auction platform.

FIG. 2 is a semi-schematic overhead view of the auction platform in usein a venue.

FIG. 3 is an overhead view of a venue illustrating use of the auctionplatform system that has been limited by geolocation to users of mobiledevices within the venue.

FIG. 4 is an overhead view of a neighborhood surrounding a venueillustrating use of the auction platform system that has been limited bygeolocation to users of mobile devices within the neighborhood.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate self-registration and login features of a usertool of the auction platform system.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate auction selection, item selection, and biddingfeatures of a user tool of the auction platform system.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate bidding result reporting features of a user toolof the auction platform system.

FIGS. 8A-E illustrate payment features of a user tool of the auctionplatform system.

FIGS. 9A-D illustrate illustrates trivia features of a user tool of theauction platform system.

FIG. 10 illustrates a dashboard feature of an administrative tool of theauction platform system.

FIGS. 11A-D illustrate auction features of an administrative tool of theauction platform system

FIGS. 12A-B illustrate advertising and/or sponsorship features of anadministrative tool of the auction platform system

FIGS. 13A-B illustrate a customer list feature of an administrative toolof the auction platform system

FIGS. 14A-B illustrate an administrator list feature of anadministrative tool of the auction platform system

FIGS. 15A-H illustrate trivia features of an administrative tool of theauction platform system.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an exemplary processing server inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a computer-implemented method of managingan auction platform associated with a venue.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system 2 (i.e., an auction platform)configured to implement the systems and methods discussed herein. Thesystem 2 may include a computer 10 configured to enable an administratorto configure and initiate auctions. The computer 10 may connect to oneor more portable electronic devices 8 (including, but not limited to,smart phones, tablets, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), multimediaplayers, desktop or notebook computers, MP3 players, and digitalbroadcast receivers) via a network 4. In embodiments, the network 4 maysupport any type of data communication via any standard or technology(e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM, GPRS, EV-DO, UWB,Internet, IEEE 802 including Ethernet, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, andothers). The network 4 may also be one or more private or local networksor dedicated frequency bands.

FIG. 2 depicts an application of the system 2 in a venue 12. Attendeeswithin the venue 12 (e.g., fans seated at a stadium) may access theserver 6 and/or the computer 10 (not shown in FIG. 2) using respectiveportable electronic devices 8. In particular, the electronic devices 8may access the server 6 and/or the computer 10 via the network 4, whichin this case may a WLAN associated with the venue 12. As discussed ingreater depth below, the computer 10 may enable administrators toinitiate an auction by identifying items or services to be auctioned,inputting start and end times for the auction, and setting starting bidsfor the various items or services. Administrators may further use thecomputer 10 to prepare other engagement activities, such as triviacompetitions. Attendees may use respective portable electronic devices 8to connect to the computer 10 to view auctions, submit bids, submitpayments, and participate in other engagement activities set-up by anadministrator. In particular, attendees may bid on once-in-a-lifetimeopportunities or experiences that they would not otherwise have theopportunity to acquire.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the geolocation features of the system 2, whichmay be configured and managed using various location technologiesincluding global positioning system (GPS). It should be appreciated thatthe depicted venues in FIGS. 3 and 4 are merely exemplary, and thatalternative and additional venues are appreciated.

FIG. 3 illustrates an overhead view of a sport stadium 12 which may hostan event attended by attendees, where the attendees may participate inone or more auctions initiated by an administrator. According toembodiments, the administrator may configure an auction such only theattendees (or otherwise people located at the stadium 12) mayparticipate in the auction. Accordingly, the administrator may specify aboundary 14 such that any device located within the boundary 14 mayaccess the auction platform and any device located outside the boundary14 does not have access to the auction platform. In someimplementations, the auction platform may automatically identify ordetermine the boundary 14, such as if the stadium 12 has existingcoordinates.

In operation, a device within the stadium 12 may request to access aspecific auction, wherein the request may include a location of thedevice. The auction platform may determine whether the location iswithin or external to the boundary 14. If the location is within theboundary 14, the auction platform may enable the requesting device toaccess the auction. If the location is outside of the boundary 14, theauction platform may deny the requesting device access to the auction.

Similarly, FIG. 4 illustrates an overhead view of the sport stadium 12with an alternative boundary 14. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 4,the boundary 14 may include the premises of the stadium 12 itself aswell as a neighborhood that surrounds the stadium 12. As describedabove, an administrator may interface with the auction platform tospecify the boundary 14, such as via selecting certain areas or streets.In an embodiment, the auction platform may automatically determine theboundary 14.

FIGS. 5A-9D depict example interfaces associated with the auctionplatform, where the interfaces may be displayable by the portableelectronic device 8. According to embodiments, the portable electronicdevice may be located within a venue at a time when an event is takingplace. FIG. 5A is a login screen that enables a user to login byentering their email address and password, click on a link to reset apassword if the user has forgotten his/her password, or else click on alink to join for free if the user is new to using the auction platform.FIG. 5B is an interface that enables a user to self-register by enteringtheir email address, entering a password, confirming the password, andproviding a mobile number at which they may be reached. FIG. 5C is aninterface that, upon receiving registration information from a user,enables the user to determine whether they would like to receive anactivation code via text or via email. FIG. 5D is an interface thatenables a user who has received an activation code to enter it in orderto complete the self-registration process. As discussed herein, theself-registration features supported by the auction platform enablesmassive amounts of individuals to register for access to auctions. Forexample, some venues host football games that draw over 100,000 fans.

FIG. 6A is an interface that enables a user to access and review nearbyauctions, public auctions, and virtual auctions in order to select theauction in which they would like to participate. In order for nearbyauctions to be displayed, the portable electronic device 8 of the usermust have settings that enable the location of the portable electronicdevice 8 to be determined. In the event that the settings do not allowthe location of the portable electronic device 8 to be determined, usersare prompted via an interface, such as the interface, as illustrated inFIG. 6B. In particular, the interface of FIG. 6B indicates that thesettings need to be adjusted to enable location tracking of the portableelectronic device 8 in order to locate nearby auctions.

After a user selects an auction, the portable electronic device 8 maypresent the user with a list of items being sold in that auction, aspictured in the interface of FIG. 6C. As shown in FIG. 6C, certain itemsmay be marked as “hot.” The determination of whether an item qualifiesas hot may be made on the basis of how many bids it has, how many usershave viewed it, or some other metric. In addition, indications or icons(e.g., a thumbs up sign, a gold ribbon, or a star) may be used toindicate that the user is winning an auction, has won an auction, or mayotherwise be selected by the user to indicate that the item is afavorite. If a user is interested in an item, the user may select theitem, and the portable electronic device 8 may display the interfaceshown in FIG. 6D, which provides information about the item, such as adescription of the item, the sponsor of the item, the current bid on theitem, and the increments by which the bid may be increased. Theinterface of FIG. 6D may also enable the user to bid one increment abovethe current bid, to set a maximum auto bid, or to purchase the item at a“win now” price. Indications or icons (e.g., a thumbs up sign, a goldribbon, or a star) may also be used on this interface to indicate thatthe user is winning an auction, has won an auction, or has selected theitem as a favorite. The image of the item displayed on the interface ofFIG. 6D may be reused throughout the auction platform for the item,being resized based on the sizing requirements for each interfacedisplay of the item.

If the user places a bid, the auction platform may ensure that the useris notified of the status of the bid. For example, FIG. 7A is aninterface that informs a user that he or she has been outbid andencourages the user to bid again. FIG. 7B is an interface that informs auser that the user's set maximum auto bid has been reached and offersthe user the opportunity to increase the maximum auto bid. FIG. 7C is aninterface that informs a user they have not won an auction. FIG. 7D isan interface that informs a user they have won the auction and providesa link to additional details that may include how to pay or how toredeem a receipt to receive the item.

FIGS. 8A-E illustrate various interfaces associated with paymentfeatures of the auction platform. FIG. 8A is an interface that enables auser to add a credit card to their account by entering the cardholdername, number, billing zip code, and any other relevant information.Users may provide information for multiple credit cards. FIG. 8B is aninterface that enables a user to select which credit card to use to makea payment. FIG. 8C is an interface that informs a user that theirpayment has been declined and gives them the option to re-submit orinput a new card. FIG. 8D is an interface that informs a user that theirpayment has been approved and provides a link to a receipt for thepayment. The receipt may be used for tax purposes. When a user's paymentis approved, the auction platform automatically deposits the paymentinto a bank account.

In general, a customer, such as a professional sports team or a venueowner, may pay an auction administrator to host an auction using theauction platform. Such customers are generally the entities providingitems for auctions occurring on the auction platform. As a result, aneed exists for a channel by which a customer can be quickly anddirectly reimbursed for auction items from the auction platform users,as opposed to administrators receiving payments from users and thenmaking a bulk payment to a customer. The auction platform allows auser's payment to be deposited directly into a bank account of acustomer so that there is no lag time between the payment by the userand the receipt of the payment by the customer.

FIG. 8E is an interface depicting a receipt for winning an auction,which may include information such as the cost of the item, the date itwas won or purchased, a redemption code, the sponsor of the item, and alink to mark the item as redeemed. A user of the auction platform cansimply show the receipt to an auction agent in order to redeem thereceipt for the won item or experience. The auction agent may select aredeem button in order to prevent the same prize from being redeemedmultiple times. The receipt may be used for tax purposes.

FIGS. 9A-9D are interfaces illustrating trivia features associated withthe auction platform. FIG. 9A is an interface that asks a user a triviaquestion and enables the user to select an answer. The amount of timethe user has to select the answer may be varied. Trivia questions mayoptionally be directed to the event the user is attending or aparticipant of the event in order to increase the user's engagement withthe event and/or the participant.

FIG. 9B is an interface that informs a user that they answered a triviaquestion incorrectly, informs the user how many trivia points they haveaccumulated so far, and provides a link to go back to the auctionfeatures of the auction platform and another link to view a currentamount of accumulated trivia points. FIG. 9C is an interface thatinforms a user that they answered a trivia question correctly, indicateshow many points or what prize is awarded for the correct answer, andprovides a link to go back to the auction features of the auctionplatform and another link to view a current amount of accumulated triviapoints or prizes that can be redeemed. FIG. 9D is an interface thatshows the user the current amount of accumulated trivia points and theoptions that they may be redeemed for. For example, trivia points may beredeemable for items at a refreshment stand in the stadium 12.

In some embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure, theauction platform may enable users using the trivia features or theauction features to input their seat number or the section in which theyare sitting. The auction platform may then cause a display device (e.g.,a screen within the venue) to display, for example, the section of thevenue that has answered the most trivia questions correctly or thelocation of the highest bidder on an auction item. Knowledge of whichsection is winning or where a winning bidder is located may motivateother users to interact with the auction platform.

FIGS. 10-14B illustrate various interfaces associated with certainfunctionalities associated with an administrator of the auctionplatform. According to embodiments, a computer such as the computer 10may display the interface, however it should be appreciated that aninterface may access the interfaces using any type of electronic device.As described herein, the auction platform enables an administrator toconfigure and manage auctions and other engagement activities forvarious customers, such as sports teams wishing to use the auctionplatform at their events.

FIG. 10 illustrates a dashboard feature of the auction platform thatprovides general information about how the auction platform is beingused. In particular, the dashboard feature of FIG. 10 identifies thenumber of registered users, the number of total customers, the number oftotal auctions, and the number of total sold items. In addition tocumulative data, the dashboard may show real time results associatedwith live or current auctions.

FIGS. 11A-D illustrate additional administrative features of the auctionplatform. FIG. 11A is an interface that provides a list of auctions,their type (on-location only or open), their status (past, currentlyoccurring, or upcoming), their start date, their end date, and theboundary line 14 defining where participation in the auction is allowed.FIG. 11B is an interface that details information about an auction, suchas the auction name, type (on-location and locked from public outsidevenue, on location but open to public outside the venue, or virtualworldwide and open to the public), start and end dates, auctioncurrency, time zone of the auction, default refund contact, and defaultreturn policy, all of which may be input into the auction platform. Insome embodiments, a default setting may govern all items within theauction unless an alternate designation is made for a particular item.In addition, an auction may be made visible to the public prior to thebeginning of an auction in order for potential bidders to peruse itemsfor the auction. Otherwise, the auction may be kept invisible.Information about the boundary line 14 of the auction may also be input,and a map may display the area encompassed by the boundary line 14. Theauction may be locked so that only users within the boundary 14 canaccess the auction. Otherwise, the auction may be unlocked so that usersoutside (and within) the boundary 14 may access the auction.

According to some embodiments, certain auctions or items may beclassified as “hot” based on a larger amount of activity for thatauction. In other embodiments, an administrator may designate an auctionor an item as “hot” before the auction is initiated. An administratorcan also specify which information associated with an auction is visibleto accessing users. FIG. 11C is an interface that provides details abouteach item in an auction, such as the starting bid, the current bid, theincrement at which bidding occurs, any “win now” or “buy now” price, thebid history, the sold price if available, and the status of the item(e.g., no activity, active, sold). FIG. 11D is an interface that enablesan item or experience to be added to an auction. Information about theitem or experience, such as its name, description, type (bid only, bidor buy at a “win now” price, or “buy now” sans bidding), starting bid,increments at which bid price can be increased, a “win now” or “buy now”price if available, the quantity of that item available, the sponsor forthe item and a link to the sponsor, the refund policy and refund contactfor the item, and any fine print about the item.

FIGS. 12A-B illustrate advertising and/or sponsorship featuresassociated with the auction platform. FIG. 12A is an interface thatprovides a list of advertisements, the associated sponsor, the rankingof the sponsor, and the date the advertisement was created. In anembodiment, advertisements may be displayed as a screen saver when auser is not actively accessing the auction platform. The auctionplatform ranking of the sponsor may be based on the frequency with whichthe ad is displayed within the rotation of all of the ads during thetime the screen saver is being displayed or the time that the ad isdisplayed during the time the screen saver is being displayed. Thesponsor may also be ranked based on an internal ranking of the sponsorby the customer based on their existing methodology (e.g., a designationof the sponsor as gold, silver, or bronze). Advertisements may bedisplayed in connection with items in an auction, and a hyperlink toeach sponsor's web site may be provided in connection with each item.

The auction platform may be equipped to handle various types andcombinations of advertisements from various combinations of advertisers.FIG. 12B is an interface the enables an administrator to input detailsabout a sponsor. A list of sponsors and details about each sponsor maybe maintained in a sponsor library, and particular sponsors may beselected as sponsors for particular auctions. In some implementations,sponsors may elect to pay a premium amount to have their advertisementshighlighted or featured in the auction platform.

FIGS. 13A-B illustrate additional features accessible to administratorsor customers of the auction platform. FIG. 13A is an interfaceassociated with the various customers with current or past auctionsthrough the auction platform. The list illustrated in FIG. 13Aidentifies customers by name, indicates whether they are currentlyactive, and indicates customized display features that customer hasselected within the auction platform. For example, a customer may selectto have two different colors (e.g., team colors) be used to customizethe appearance of the auction platform and may select to have footerfeatures displayed. The footer may include the ability to download amobile device application directly through the auction platform, whichrepresents an advantage to customers who wish to promote their team ororganization through their own application. The customer may also uploada logo into the auction platform, which can be included on user receiptsas another feature to increase the customer's relationship with users.In addition, the customer may have an associated bank account. FIG. 13Bis an interface that enables the customer to enter various information,such as the customer name, colors, bank information, footer banner URL,and contact information for a person who will handle various functions(e.g., marketing, prize redemption, or returns) for that customer.

FIGS. 14A-B illustrate additional administrator features associated withthe auction platform. FIG. 14A is an interface that provides a list ofcurrent administrators, their names, work phone numbers, mobile phonenumbers, email addresses, and status (active or not). FIG. 14B is aninterface that enables administrator information to be changed. Forexample, the administrator may modify access or security settings, aswell as input name, phone numbers, contact information, and passwords.Different administrators may have different levels of access to thefunctionality and security of the auction platform.

FIGS. 15A-H illustrate administrative trivia features associated withthe auction platform. FIG. 15A is an interface that allows a triviaquestion and correct and incorrect questions to be entered. FIG. 15B isan interface of a library of entered trivia questions, which may beselected for use in any given auction. FIG. 15C is an interface of atrivia question selected for an auction that allows the difficulty levelof the trivia question to be set. FIG. 15D is an interface of triviaquestions selected for an auction with a chart displaying theirdifficulty level and point value. FIG. 15E is an interface of a libraryof potential trivia prizes, which may be selected for use in any givenauction. FIG. 15F is an interface that allows details about a prize inthe library to be entered, including an image of the prize that may beresized and used throughout the auction platform in connection with theprize, and a description of the prize. FIG. 15G is an interface of atrivia question selected for use in a particular auction that allows theprize to be identified as a certain type (i.e., gold, silver, bronze)and entry of the quantity of that prize to be awarded. FIG. 15H is aninterface of trivia prizes selected for an auction with a chartdisplaying the prize type, quantity, and points.

FIG. 16 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary processing server 116(such as the server 6 discussed with respect to FIG. 1) in which thefunctionalities as discussed herein may be implemented. The processingserver 116 may include a processor 118, as well as a memory 120. Thememory 120 may store an operating system 122 capable of facilitating thefunctionalities as discussed herein, as well as a set of applications124 (i.e., machine readable instructions). For instance, one of the setof applications 124 may be an auction platform 126 configured to managean auction at a venue. It should be appreciated that other applications128 are envisioned, such as a trivia application configured tofacilitate a trivia competition between users at a venue.

The processor 118 may interface with the memory 120 to execute theoperating system 122 and the set of applications 124. According to someembodiments, the memory 120 may also include a data record storage 130that stores various information associated with auctions and engagementactivities. The auction platform application 126 may interface with thedata record storage 130 to retrieve relevant information that theauction platform application 126 may use to manage auctions, generatenotifications regarding bidding, and/or perform other functionalities.Further, other applications 128 may interface with the data recordstorage 130 to retrieve information. The memory 120 may include one ormore forms of volatile and/or non-volatile, fixed and/or removablememory, such as read-only memory (ROM), electronic programmableread-only memory (EPROM), random access memory (RAM), erasableelectronic programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and/or other harddrives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, and others.

The processing server 116 may further include a communication module 132configured to communicate data to, for example, a portable electronicdevice via one or more networks 134. According to some embodiments, thecommunication module 132 may include one or more transceivers (e.g.,WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers) functioning in accordance withIEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or other standards, and configured toreceive and transmit data via one or more external ports 136. Forinstance, the communication module 132 may receive, via the network 134,information associated with a portable electronic device.

The processing server 116 may further include a user interface 138configured to present information to an administrator and/or receiveinputs from the administrator. As shown in FIG. 15, the user interface138 may include a display screen 140 and I/O components 142 (e.g.,ports, capacitive or resistive touch sensitive input panels, keys,buttons, lights, LEDs, speakers, microphones). According to someembodiments, the user may access the processing server 116 via the userinterface 138 to process auctions and/or perform other functions. Insome embodiments, the processing server 116 may perform thefunctionalities as discussed herein as part of a “cloud” network or mayotherwise communicate with other hardware or software components withinthe cloud to send, retrieve, and/or otherwise analyze data.

In general, a computer program product in accordance with an embodimentmay include a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard randomaccess memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB)drive, or the like) having computer-readable program code embodiedtherein, wherein the computer-readable program code may be adapted to beexecuted by the processor 116 (e.g., working in connection with theoperating system 122) to facilitate the functions as described herein.In this regard, the program code may be implemented in any desiredlanguage, and/or may be implemented as machine code, assembly code, bytecode, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via C, C++, Java,Actionscript, Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML). In some embodiments,the computer program product may be part of a cloud network ofresources.

FIG. 17 depicts a computer-implemented method 200 of managing an auctionplatform associated with a venue. The method 200 may be performed by anelectronic device such as the computer 10 as discussed with respect toFIG. 1, or any other type of electronic device. Box 202 representsreceiving, from a portable electronic device via a network connection, arequest to register the portable electronic device with the auctionplatform. Box 204 represents registering the portable device with theauction platform, which may include: identifying a location of theportable electronic device (shown by Box 206), and determining that thelocation of the portable electronic device is within a boundaryassociated with the venue (as shown by Box 208), initiating an auctionfor an item or service associated with an event taking place at thevenue (as shown by Box 210). The location of the portable electronicdevice may be a set of global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, anddetermining that the location of the portable electronic device iswithin the boundary associated with the venue may include determiningthat the set of GPS coordinates is located within the boundaryassociated with the venue (as shown by Box 226).

Initiating the auction for the item or service may include enabling anadministrator of the auction platform to identify the item or service,and input at least one of a start time, an end time, and a starting bid(as shown by Box 218). Enabling an administrator to specify the boundaryassociated with the venue may include enabling the administrator tospecify an area defined by the venue and an auxiliary area at leastpartially surrounding the area defined by the venue (as shown by Box224).

Box 212 represents transmitting, to the portable electronic device viathe network connection, information associated with the auction for theitem or service after registering the portable device with the auctionplatform, which may include receiving, from the portable electronicdevice, a request to access the auction (as shown in Box 242) andresponsive to receiving the request to access the auction, transmitting,to the portable electronic device via the network connection, theinformation associated with the auction for the item or service (asshown in Box 244). Transmitting the information associated with theauction for the item or service may further include, in response toinitiating the auction, automatically transmitting, to the portableelectronic device via the network connection, information associatedwith the auction for the item or service (as shown in Box 246).

Box 214 represents receiving, from the portable electronic device viathe network connection, a bid for the item or service. Receiving therequest to register the portable electronic device with the auctionplatform may include receiving the request and the location of theportable electronic device (as shown by Box 220). Box 216 representsupdating the auction for the item or service to reflect the bid.

Box 222 represents enabling an administrator of the auction platform tospecify the boundary associated with the venue. Box 228 represents, uponan end time associated with the auction, determining that the bid is thehighest bid for the auction. Box 230 represents processing a paymentfrom a user of the portable electronic device according to the bid. Box232 represents transmitting funds according to the payment to an accountof a customer.

Box 234 represents receiving, from an additional portable electronicdevice via the network connection, an additional request to register theadditional portable electronic device with the auction platform. Box 236represents registering the additional portable device with the auctionplatform, which may include identifying an additional location of theadditional portable electronic device (as shown by Box 238), anddetermining that the additional location of the additional portableelectronic device is within the boundary associated with the venue (asshown by Box 240).

In general, a computer program product in accordance with an embodimentincludes a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard random accessmemory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB) drive, orthe like) having computer-readable program code embodied therein,wherein the computer-readable program code is adapted to be executed bythe processor 116 (e.g., working in connection with the operating system116) to facilitate the functions as described herein. In this regard,the program code may be implemented in any desired language, and may beimplemented as machine code, assembly code, byte code, interpretablesource code or the like (e.g., via C, C++, Java, Actionscript,Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML, and/or others).

This disclosure is intended to explain how to fashion and use variousembodiments in accordance with the technology rather than to limit thetrue, intended, and fair scope and spirit thereof. The foregoingdescription is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to theprecise forms disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible inlight of the above teachings. The embodiment(s) were chosen anddescribed to provide the best illustration of the principle of thedescribed technology and its practical application, and to enable one ofordinary skill in the art to utilize the technology in variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations arewithin the scope of the embodiments as determined by the appendedclaims, as may be amended during the pendency of this application forpatent, and all equivalents thereof, when interpreted in accordance withthe breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of managing anauction platform associated with a venue, the method comprising:enabling an administrator of the auction platform to specify, via a userinterface, a boundary for an auction associated with an event takingplace at the venue including: enabling the administrator to specify anarea defined by the venue, and enabling the administrator to specify theboundary that comprises a set of streets at least partially surroundingthe area defined by the venue, wherein the boundary further encompassesthe area defined by the venue; receiving, from a portable electronicdevice via a network connection, a request to register the portableelectronic device with the auction platform; registering the portableelectronic device with the auction platform including: receiving, fromthe portable electronic device via the network connection, a set ofcoordinates indicative of a location of the portable electronic device,and determining that the location of the portable electronic device iswithin the boundary for the auction; configuring the auction during theevent taking place at the venue including: enabling the administrator toidentify, via the user interface, an item or service to be auctionedduring the event taking place at the venue, enabling the administratorto input, via the user interface, a start time for the auction and anend time for the auction, and concurrently displaying, in the userinterface, (i) the start time for the auction, (ii) the end time for theauction, and (iii) a map of the area defined by the venue and theboundary; after registering the portable electronic device with theauction platform, transmitting, to the portable electronic device viathe network connection, information associated with the auction for theitem or service; receiving, from the portable electronic device via thenetwork connection, a bid for the item or service; updating the auctionfor the item or service to reflect the bid; and upon the end time forthe auction, determining that the bid is the highest bid for theauction; processing a payment from a user of the portable electronicdevice according to the bid; and transmitting funds according to thepayment to an account of a customer.
 2. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein configuring the auction further includes: enablingthe administrator to input a starting bid.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the request to register the portableelectronic device with the auction platform is received with the set ofcoordinates.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theset of coordinates is a set of global positioning system (GPS)coordinates, and wherein determining that the location of the portableelectronic device is within the boundary associated with the venuecomprises: determining that the set of GPS coordinates is located withinthe boundary for the auction.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, from an additional portableelectronic device via the network connection, an additional request toregister the additional portable electronic device with the auctionplatform; and registering the additional portable electronic device withthe auction platform including: identifying an additional location ofthe additional portable electronic device, and determining that theadditional location of the additional portable electronic device iswithin the boundary for the auction.
 6. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein transmitting the information associated with theauction for the item or service comprises: receiving, from the portableelectronic device, a request to access the auction; and responsive toreceiving the request to access the auction, transmitting, to theportable electronic device via the network connection, the informationassociated with the auction for the item or service.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting theinformation associated with the auction for the item or servicecomprises: in response to configuring the auction, automaticallytransmitting, to the portable electronic device via the networkconnection, the information associated with the auction for the item orservice.
 8. A system for managing auctions associated with a venue,comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a portableelectronic device via a network connection; and an auction platformexecuted by a processor and comprising a user interface, and configuredto: enable an administrator to specify, via the user interface, aboundary for an auction associated with an event taking place at thevenue including: enable the administrator to specify an area defined bythe venue, and enable the administrator to specify the boundary thatcomprises a set of streets at least partially surrounding the areadefined by the venue, wherein the boundary further encompasses the areadefined by the venue, receive, from the portable electronic device viathe transceiver, a request to register the portable electronic devicewith the auction platform, register the portable electronic device withthe auction platform including: receive, from the portable electronicdevice via the transceiver, a set of coordinates indicative of alocation of the portable electronic device, and determine that thelocation of the portable electronic device is within the boundary forthe auction, configure the auction during the event taking place at thevenue including: enable the administrator to identify, via the userinterface, an item or service to be auctioned during the event takingplace at the venue, enable the administrator to input, via the userinterface, a start time for the auction and an end time for the auction,and cause the user interface to concurrently display (i) the start timefor the auction, (ii) the end time for the auction, and (iii) a map ofthe area defined by the venue and the boundary; after registering theportable electronic device with the auction platform, transmit, to theportable electronic device via the transceiver, information associatedwith the auction for the item or service, receive, from the portableelectronic device via the transceiver, a bid for the item or service,update the auction for the item or service to reflect the bid, and uponthe end time for the auction, determine that the bid is the highest bidfor the auction, process a payment from a user of the portableelectronic device according to the bid, and transmit funds according tothe payment to an account of a customer.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein to configure the auction, the auction platform is configured to:enable the administrator to input a starting bid.
 10. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the auction platform receives, via the transceiver, therequest to register the portable electronic device with the set ofcoordinates.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the set of coordinatesis a set of GPS coordinates.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein theauction platform is further configured to: receive, from an additionalportable electronic device via the transceiver, an additional request toregister the additional portable electronic device with the auctionplatform, and register the additional portable electronic device withthe auction platform including: identify an additional location of theadditional portable electronic device, and determine that the additionallocation of the additional portable electronic device is within theboundary for the auction.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein to transmitthe information associated with the auction for the item or service, theauction platform is configured to: receive, from the portable electronicdevice, a request to access the auction; and responsive to receiving therequest to access the auction, transmit, to the portable electronicdevice via the transceiver, the information associated with the auctionfor the item or service.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein to transmitthe information associated with the auction for the item or service, theauction platform is configured to: automatically transmit, to theportable electronic device via the transceiver, the informationassociated with the auction for the item or service.